My Older Brother, A Famous Rapper Book Release at Junior High Los Angeles

Alyesha Wise debuts her latest book of poetry My Older Brother, A Famous Rapper at Junior High Los Angeles. Performance/reading followed by Q&A moderated by Shannon Matesky.

Junior High Los Angeles

603 S Brand Blvd

Glendale, CA 91204, USA

About the Author

Alyesha Wise is an award-winning, published poet, educator & speaker from Camden, N.J. Currently residing in LA, she is the Director of Programming for Street Poets, Inc., an organization mostly serving juvenile injustice-involved youth with mentorship and arts programming. Alyesha has been featured on platforms and in publications such as OWN TV, BET, LA Times, Bustle, Afropunk, PBS, Buzzfeed and more. Other collabs include the ACLU, The Shabazz Center, The Nantucket Project, Brave New Films and the Google Interstellar Project. Ron Howard once wrote about Alyesha's work, "Very Powerful."

About the Moderator

Shannon Matesky is an Actress, Producer, Director and Writer. Her acting and has been seen at Steppenwolf Theater, La Jolla Theater, and in many non traditional venues. Matesky was a member of the 2018 Directors Lab at Lincoln Center in New York and has been an assistant director at Chicago’s Court Theater and Goodman Theater, among others. Shannon was also a featured performer in BARS presented by The Public. As a poet, she has featured in venues across the country and has been seen on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, Nylon Magazine, and BET Online. She has taught writing workshops, led panels, and been a featured speaker at many universities. Shannon is also one of the core writers for Chicago’s annual hit, The Fly Honey Show. Shannon is also author of four solo performances, She Think She Grown, We Gotta Eat, The Saga of the Return, and Heartbreak Hotel: Whitney. 

Praise for My Older Brother, A Famous Rapper

“In My Older Brother, A Famous Rapper, Alyesha Wise invites us into stories that are as raw as they are healing. Through themes of family, identity, and peace, Wise transforms pain into resilience and fracture into unity. This remarkable collection is both intimate and universal—a testament to the strength we discover in our shared humanity.”

—Dr. Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, author, community organizer, social activist, and motivational speaker

“With My Older Brother, A Famous Rapper, Alyesha Wise delivers a memoir in verse, a carefully structured mixtape of testimony on what it means to be seen, erased and then resurrected. It’s a collection that demands more than it asks. Unapologetic and unwavering. A commitment to truth telling. And if that’s not what poetry should be, then I don’t know what poetry is.”

—Shihan Van Clief, Tony Award-winning HBO Def Poet and co-founder of Da Poetry Lounge

Junior High Los Angeles

Located in the heart of Glendale, Junior High is a multipurpose gallery and events space hosting a wide array of programming and services. We prioritize accessibility — physical, financial, psychological, mobility — and we’re happy to accommodate your needs. If you are a student, QTBIPOC+, or low income you may qualify for discounted ticketing for our events.

El Martillo Press

Founded by Matt Sedillo and David A. Romero, El Martillo Press publishes writers whose pens strike the page with clear intent; words with purpose to pry apart assumed norms and to hammer away at injustice. El Martillo Press proactively publishes writers looking to pound the pavement to promote their work and the work of their fellow pressmates. El Martillo is the builder of bridges and the destroyer of walls.

https://www.elmartillopress.com/product-page/my-older-brother-a-famous-rapper